Hometeam Mid-Wach Basketball: Coaches return to rivalry

Fitchburg’s new varsity basketball coach, Jack Scott, and Leominster’s Nick Smith are back at their respective alma maters and each is right where he’s always wanted to be.

“Things could not be going any better for me, I’m back at Leominster where I’ve wanted to be since I was 15 years old and playing for coach Mazz (Ron Mazzaferro),” said Smith, who replaced Steve Dubzinski to begin the season.

Former Red Raider Scott, who succeeded Paul DiGeronimo in the varsity position, echoed similar sentiments.

“Even when I was coaching in college 10 or 15 years ago, I always looked at this job as what I would love to do,” he said. “I wanted to be part of what was going on here when I became an assistant to (DiGeronimo) and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

Scott played for the legendary Doug Grutchfield during some of Fitchburg’s greatest years, helping the Red Raiders win a district title as a sophomore in 1988, then coming within two points of upsetting state finalist Burncoat in the district finals in 1990.

He was a captain of that 1989-90 team, along with Darren Bennett and Randy Shoemaker, and also had outstanding teammates like Luis Cotto, Kyle Kirousis, Dan Brasili and freshman Zack McCall.

“The aura of Grutch never goes away,” said Scott, noting that the Fitchburg High field house named in his coach’s honor is a daily reminder. “I love that, the legacy he left, and I feel lucky to have played for him in the era that I did.”

Smith, who graduated from Leominster in 1996, has memories of more recent great Leominster-Fitchburg games.

“Playing for coach Mazz was pretty much when I fell in love with the game, and I’ve dedicated my life to it since,” he said. “This is what I live for. I remember our games with Fitchburg, we always played hard, we always gave them a battle.”

In that era, games were played at the “Brickyard,” Fitchburg’s former gymnasium at the old high school.

“You’d go in there and see a bunch of people, probably violating the fire code, and the fans were right up close and on top of you all along the baseline,” he remembered.

Smith was on some Blue Devil teams that included John Tamaro, Steve St. Laurent, Rich Barnaby and Scott Fredericks.

In his circuitous route back to Leominster, Smith was varsity coach at Narragansett Regional, then spent some time as men’s assistant coach at Regis College and later was assistant girls’ basketball coach at the prestigious James Hillhouse High School of New Haven, Conn.

While he was there, the Hillhouse squad captured three straight Connecticut state championships and featured standout Bria Holmes, the first female McDonald’s All-American from Connecticut.

“I had the chance to coach with Catrina Hawley-Stewart, one of the best high school coaches in the game today,” Smith said. “I was very fortunate.”

Scott has also paid his dues. He spent two years as an assistant at Anna Maria and two more at Salem State and then was an assistant for two years at Fitchburg State before becoming the head coach there for two years. He’s spent nine years as DiGeronimo’s assistant.

“The beauty of this (Leominster-Fitchburg) rivalry is that it doesn’t matter what sport it is, or at what level,” said Scott. “It will always be that way, it’s awesome.”

Tuesday night’s game at the Grutchfield Fieldhouse — a 66-39 Fitchburg victory — may have marked the first time alumni of the respective schools ever coached against each other for their alma maters.

“I don’t believe it ever happened before,” said Mazzaferro, a Leominster grad who coached at the school from 1975 through the early part of the 2000s. “Before me at Leominster there was Ted Damko, then Lance Fowler and before that was Charlie Broderick, and none of them attended Leominster.”

By the look of things, there will likely be many more big matchups between the Scott and Smith-coached teams.

Admit it, how many times have you created this scenario at your driveway hoop? Five seconds left, the ball is in your hands and you’re down by two.

“It’s funny, whenever I did that in my driveway (the ball) never went in,” Wachusett junior guard Mikalya Singas said with a laugh.

When the game was on the line and the shot mattered most, Singas delivered. Not once, but two games in a row.

Last week against Holy Name, with her team down by three, she hit a half-court bomb to send the game into overtime and Mountaineers eventually prevailed, 46-43.

Then, on Saturday, with Wachusett down by two, Singas drove to the hoop with no time left and flipped in a left-handed layup to knock off Westford Academy, 49-48.

You have to wonder whether Singas thought to go out and buy a couple of lottery tickets following her lucky weekend.

“It’s been crazy,” said Singas who, along with Maty Diabate, Jen Windler, Rachel Aho and Brittany Charlonne, have helped the Mountaineers and their coach, Jim Oxford, to the top spot in the Hometeam Media Poll. “It’s very exciting for us to be succeeding the way we have, but it’s also tough to have that target on our backs.”